Alternate Planes
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Harry suddenly finds himself at an unknown yet very agreeable place. Or is it only a fevered dream? Will he receive the needed help before entering Hogwarts? Set before Hogwarts, completely AU, partly OOC, mentioning of neglect!Dursleys, sick!Harry
1. Chapter 1

**Alternate Planes**  
><strong>by Healer Pomfrey<strong>

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
>I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.<em>

_This story is completely AU, sick!Harry._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Eight-year-old Harry Potter slowly dragged himself into the small cupboard under the stairs at the residence of the Dursleys, his relatives, who thought of themselves as the most normal people of the world and hated him with a passion.

In fact, he was a freak. Ever since he could remember, the Dursleys called him that name, although his school teacher had once explained to him in private that his name was not Freak but Harry.

Harry heard his aunt shut the door of his cupboard from the outside and lock it firmly to prevent him from coming out and infecting his cousin Dudley with the bug that he had caught. However, for once he did not mind, as he was feeling too awful to do anything but lie down on his old baby mattress.

However, sleep did not come easily. Harry shivered under the thin blanket, his chest hurt, and his ears felt strangely clogged. _'I just hope that I'll be better and able to go to school soon,'_ he thought, breathing heavily. From the morning, he had been feeling unwell; however, not wanting to stay in his cupboard instead of going to school, he had tried to hide his ailments from everyone. Unfortunately, even if it had worked with his aunt, who did not care enough to observe him closely, his teacher had noticed that he was not all right and had dragged him to the school nurse, who had realised that he was running a high fever and had probably either caught the flu or some kind of lung infection. Although Harry had reassured her that he was able to walk home on his own, the nurse had called Aunt Petunia and instructed her to fetch him, which the Dursleys had not taken well. Not caring that he could barely keep himself on his feet, his aunt and uncle had shouted at him for what seemed to be ages to the small boy. _'I wished I had a mummy, who loves me,'_ he thought sadly, recalling how Aunt Petunia cuddled Dudley, when he was sick.

Finally, Harry drifted off to sleep that was disturbed by fevered dreams, which mostly revolved around his cousin chasing him together with his friends.

HP

All of a sudden, Dudley and his gang were gone from his view, and he found himself sitting at a large, dark wooden table. _'What happened?_ _W_here_ am I now?'_ he wondered, warily looking around. He slowly let his eyes wander around the unknown room. It was surrounded by huge bookshelves that were interrupted by many tall windows. However, it was dark outside, so that he could not possibly recognise the surroundings. In the middle of the room, right next to the table, was a fireplace that was beautifully decorated. However, Harry felt too miserable to concentrate on exploring the details. Suddenly, he realised in shock that he was not alone. A girl with red hair, who seemed to be about the same age as himself, was sitting opposite of him. However, she was completely engrossed in the book that was lying in front of her on the table and did not take notice of him. _'I'm not supposed to be here; I need to leave this place,'_ he thought, panicking. However, he felt too weak to even move from the comfortable chair, on which he was sitting.

"Harry, is everything all right?" the girl suddenly queried, giving him a sharp look. "Are you still upset about what Neville said?"

_'Who is Neville?'_ Harry wondered. _'And why does she know my name?'_ "Excuse me," he said in a small voice, "who are you, and where are we?"

He stared at the girl in shock, when she shot him a terrified look and began to scream.

_tbc..._

_Sorry for the shortness of this prolog - I will update soon, provided that there is enough interest in this story. Thanks to my Facebook friends for their encouragement._


	2. Chapter 2

****Alternate Planes  
>by Healer Pomfrey<strong>**

_Please refer to the disclaimer, warnings and notes at the beginning of chapter 1!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

"Mum, Dad, come quickly! Something is wrong with Harry," the girl shouted, eying him in apparent concern.

Harry unconsciously shivered. _'This is not real,'_ he thought, frantically. _'I am not here. I'm in my cupboard. But how can I get away from the girl, before her parents come and see me? And why does she know my name?'_

He was pulled out of his thoughts, when a woman hurried into the room. _'Her mother,'_ Harry realised, wearily noticing that the woman had equally red hair. _'Her eyes are green like mine though and not black like the girl's,'_ he mused, taking in the strange one-piece, which the woman was wearing, in confusion.

"Harry, are you ill?" the woman asked kindly, leaning down to him.

"I'm fine," Harry mumbled, cringing under the woman's sharp look, only to flinch back, when an ice-cold hand found its way to his burning forehead.

"Mum, someone must have cast a memory charm on him," the girl spoke up, her voice laced with too much excitement for Harry's liking.

"No sweetie, I don't think so," her mother replied, calmingly. "Harry is running a high fever." She turned to a tall man, who had just stormed into the room. "Can you check on Harry please. I think he is ill."

_'Who are these people, and why do they know me?'_ Harry thought, frantically_. 'I'm fine,'_ his mind screamed. However, he could not muster the energy to voice the thought. He just wanted to lie down and sleep. _'But I am lying on my mattress. This is just a dream,'_ he thought, looking up, horrified, when he suddenly felt himself being picked up and carried out of the room by the stranger. An instant later, the man strode into a very nice bedroom and surprisingly gently placed him on an extremely soft and comfortable bed.

His eyes widened in shock, when the man pulled a stick out of his long, dark blue one-piece and waved it at him several times. _'Like in the strange dream that I sometimes have,'_ he thought, horrified.

"Pneumonia and 40.6 degrees of fever," the man informed the woman, who had followed him into the room with her daughter in tow. He held out his hand, mumbling something that Harry could not understand, and an instant later, two phials successively hovered into the room and landed in his hand.

Harry wearily rubbed his forehead. _'I must be delirious, but everything seems so real. I just hope this dream will end soon,'_ he mused, looking up startled, when the woman gently pulled him into a slightly sitting position.

"Don't worry, sweetie," she said in a soft voice. "Daddy is going to give you a potion, and you'll feel better in a blink."

_'Daddy? My parents are dead,'_ Harry thought, horrified, not noticing the small tear that was running over his cheek.

"Swallow," the man instructed him, pressing something cold against his lips, and, driven by the soft, silky voice that sounded very soothing, Harry automatically obeyed.

A mere instant later, he drifted off to sleep, unaware of the fact that the woman and the man took turns looking after him the whole night, wiping his hot face with a cool cloth every now and then.

HP

When Harry woke up, he noticed immediately that he felt much better. _'That was a strange dream,'_ he mused, before he slowly cracked his eyes open, only to realise in shock that he still found himself in the room, where he had fallen asleep in his dream. The girl, who seemed to be about the same age as himself, was sitting on the edge of his bed, petting a cat that was curled up on her lap.

"Good morning, sleepy head," she said, smiling. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine," Harry mumbled, feeling very uncomfortable at the question. He hurriedly glanced around the room and, confirming that they were alone, whispered, "I'm sorry, but I still don't know why I am here. Please don't tell your parents about this, but who are you, and where am I?"

The girl shot him a horrified look, before she whispered back, "I don't know what's wrong with you, Harry, but I'm Dhriti, and you're my awesome big brother. You've been here living with Mum, Dad and me your whole life."

_'I have a sister?'_ Harry thought, staring at the girl in disbelief.

"Maybe someone cast a dark spell at you," the girl whispered, thoughtfully, before she decided, "Okay, let's keep this a secret from Mum and Dad for the time being. I'll help you with everything that you don't remember."

"Thank you so much," Harry said, very relieved and grateful towards the girl. However, he still felt extremely uncomfortable, when the door opened and the girl's mother entered the room.

"Dhriti, it's time to get ready for school. We're going to have breakfast here at home today," the woman said in a kind voice, before she took the spot on the edge of Harry's bed, which the girl just vacated. "How are you feeling, sweetie?" she asked softly, giving him a piercing look.

"I'm fine," Harry replied in a small voice, shyly smiling at the kind lady.

The woman let out a small sigh. "That's only because Dad gave you your potions just an hour ago. You're still ill and can't go to school today. If you feel well enough, you may get up and read or play quietly, but no flying and no brewing potions or such today."

"Okay," Harry agreed, knowing better than to voice any questions. _'Flying? Brewing potions?'_ he wondered quietly, casting a longing look at the girl, who just vanished through the door.

"Your father and I will take turns checking on you during the day," the woman continued, glancing at her wrist watch. "Can you get up, so we can have breakfast together?"

Harry nodded and hurriedly sat up, trying to not let an expression of absolute shock show on his face, when the woman waved a stick, transforming his pyjamas into dark blue trousers and a red jumper. _'Was that magic?'_ he wondered. _'At least, the woman must be a freak like me.'_ Deep in thoughts, he followed the witch into a small kitchen, where Dhriti was already waiting for them.

To his relief, the girl immediately pulled her mother into a long conversation about her school, so that her attention was diverted, and Harry could gradually take in his surroundings. The kitchen was smaller than that of the Dursleys, and it looked as if it was barely used. All the furniture was kept in white and yellow, and the room was flooded by the rays of the early morning sun coming in through a window that covered the whole wall opposite of the door.

"Harry, I know that you're feeling unwell, but you still need to eat something," the woman suddenly turned to him in a stern voice, placing a piece of toast with butter and jam, a spoonful of scrambled eggs, a piece of bacon and some fruits on his plate.

_'Am I supposed to eat with them at the table?'_ Harry wondered, unobtrusively glancing at Dhriti, who gave him a comforting nod.

"Thank you," he whispered and slowly began to eat a little bit of the most delicious breakfast that he had ever known. He was almost sad that he already felt completely full, before he could even eat half of the portion on his plate.

Just when he was finished, Dhriti and her mother rose from their seats, and with the instruction to take some rest he was left alone. Harry slowly left the kitchen and returned to the room, in which he had spent the night, glancing through the open doors into the other rooms on his way. _'How strange; the Dursleys always keep all doors closed,'_ he thought. Back in his room, he closely inspected the room, happily skimming a few books from the bookshelf, before he lay down on the comfortable bed to ponder his situation.

_'Well, I always hoped that someone would come and take me away from the Dursleys, and the people here seem to be really nice, but no one came to fetch me. I just fell asleep in my cupboard, so eventually I'm going to wake up and be back there,'_ he mused, slowly drifting off to sleep. Suddenly, he heard a door being slammed and noticed quick footsteps coming nearer. _'Oh no, I'm back at the Dursleys','_ he realised, suddenly noticing that his condition was worse than it had been earlier.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews for chapter 1!_


	3. Chapter 3

****Alternate Planes  
>by Healer Pomfrey<strong>**

_Please refer to the disclaimer, warnings and notes at the beginning of chapter 1!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter <strong>**3**

"Harry!" A soft, baritone voice brought him back to reality, causing him to hurriedly open his eyes in surprise.

_'No, I'm still in the pretty room with the nice books. It's Dhriti's father and not Uncle Vernon,'_ he realised, happily, showing the man a small smile.

"Are you feeling better than last night?" the man queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"I'm fine," Harry confirmed, uncomfortably looking at the man, as he once again pulled his stick out of his pocket. _'That must be a wand,'_ he mused, _'and magic really exists. Uncle Vernon was wrong. I have to tell him...'_

"I believe that immediately," the man said, sighing. "Don't forget that I'm your father and know you too well. If you were really fine, you'd have already asked me at least a dozen times to allow you out of bed and let you assist in the Potions classroom."

Unsure how to reply to this, Harry merely smiled at the man, seeing that the edges of his mouth stretched to an equally small smile. Instinctively knowing that the man, who seemed to be his father in his dream, did not intend to harm him, he tried hard not to show any reaction, as the wizard once again pointed his wand at him.

"Very well," the man finally said. "You should back to normal by tomorrow morning." With that he made him drink an absolutely disgusting liquid, which caused Harry to fall asleep in the blink of an eye.

HP

Harry slept until his sister returned from school. Somehow, he felt relieved upon noticing that she came into the room and sat on the edge of his bed_. 'At least I don't have to pretend anything in front of her, because she knows that I'm not who I'm supposed to be,'_ he mused, somehow liking the girl, who was happily smiling at him. _'I wonder where her real brother is though.'_

"Mum told me to drag you to the kitchen, as you missed lunch," she said brightly. "She said she'll join us after accompanying a couple of Gryffindors and Slytherins to the Headmistress, because they had a fight in her class."

"Gryf...?" Harry mouthed, looking questioningly at Dhriti.

"Oh no... Don't you remember anything?" she asked, terrified, and, seeing Harry nod solemnly, explained, "We're living at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Mum is the Charms professor and Head of Gryffindor, Dad is the Potions Professor and Head of Slytherin."

"Is magic real?" Harry asked, incredulously. "Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon always said there is no such thing as magic.

"Since when do you listen to the Muggles? And when did you speak with them anyway? The last time Mum took us there for Aunt Petunia's birthday, we spent the whole time in the park playing pranks on Dudley and his strange friends, don't you remember?" Dhriti replied, staring at him in surprise. "Of course there is magic. They're only jealous that they can't do any. Okay now, let's go."

_'Aunt Petunia is her aunt as well? Then she must really be my sister. But how...'_ Harry was brought out of his musings when their mother appeared in the doorframe.

"Is everything okay?" she asked in apparent concern. "Harry, come on, you need to eat something. You already slept through lunch. Or do you want to wait for an hour and join us in the Great Hall for dinner?"

Harry glanced at Dhriti, who unobtrusively nodded. "Mum, can Harry and I go to the library until dinner? We're only going to sit down and read a bit."

"If Harry wants that as well, you may," her mother replied, casting Harry a sharp look.

"I'd like that," Harry replied, eager to spend some time alone with his new sister and ally.

During the remaining hour until dinner, Dhriti showed Harry Hogwarts, not only the library, but also the Astronomy tower, the Potions classroom, the Charms classroom and the entrances to the four Houses. In spite of feeling absolutely exhausted, when they finally sat down in the library, Harry enjoyed himself greatly.

"What an awesome place to live," he whispered. "I just hope this is all real and I'll be able to remain here. I'm afraid that I wake up and find myself back at the Dursleys."

"But I never met you, when we visited them, and you were always with us," Dhriti whispered back. "Tomorrow is Saturday, so I'll be able to show and tell you a lot during the weekend, before you'll have to go to school on Monday morning."

"Are you in the same class?" Harry asked, suddenly panicking at the thought of having to attend a completely unknown school pretending that he was someone else.

Dhriti chuckled. "No Harry, you're eight, aren't you? I'm only six; so you're two years ahead of me." She cast him a critical look. "I still believe that someone cast a strange memory charm at you. If it doesn't wear off, we should tell at least Dad about it; maybe he'll find a way to counter the spell and help you."

Harry knew better, however, he was not so stupid as to contradict. He trailed behind his sister along the corridors, eyeing the moving paintings on their way as well as the Great Hall in absolute amazement and excitement. _'This place is so awesome, and everyone seems to be freaks like myself. This is too good to be true,'_ he thought, feeling very grateful to the girl, when she pulled him to an empty seat at the Head table between herself and her mother. _'I just hope that no one will notice; otherwise they'll send me back to the Dursleys,'_ he mused, gratefully accepting that his mother placed a little of everything of the delicious looking dinner on his plate._ 'Hopefully this is not a dream and I'll just wake in my cupboard.'_

However, as trustworthy as Dhriti was, his secret should not remain a secret for long.

HP

Apparently noticing that Harry was behaving slightly differently from his usual cheery self, even if it was probably due to his illness, his parents monitored him closely. Even when his condition improved during the weekend, Lily and Severus still checked on their son every now and then.

On Sunday night, Severus noticed in concern that Harry was completely entangled in his covers, feverishly mumbling, "No Uncle, please don't" over and over. He gently placed a slender hand on the boy's shoulder, only to become even more worried, when his son flinched back badly at the soft touch.

"Harry, wake up, son. It's only a bad dream," he coaxed the child into awareness, which did not help to soothe his concern.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled, "for being such a burden."

"Harry," he said in a soft voice, forcing himself to remain calm and resisting the urge to use Legilimency on his son, "of course you aren't a burden. Don't ever nurse such a stupid thought. Now go back to sleep, so you'll be well enough to attend school in the morning."

"Okay," Harry replied, sleepily, already drifting back to sleep.

Severus let out a long sigh as he summoned a light dreamless sleep potion from his lab and spelled a sip into the boy's system. Then he cast a spell on the child that would alert him if the boy had any problems and retreated into his own bedroom.

HP

"Was everything all right with Harry?" Lily queried, eyeing him in concern.

"No," Severus replied, thoughtfully running a hand through his long, silky hair, while he shortly explained what had happened.

"Well, we can ask him about his dream tomorrow," Lily said, soothingly, knowing that her husband was in dire need of sleep. Apart from that, she was not ready yet to speak about her newest vision.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter, here and on Facebook. I really appreciate the feedback._


	4. Chapter 4

****Alternate Planes  
>by Healer Pomfrey<strong>**

_Please refer to the disclaimer, warnings and notes at the beginning of chapter 1!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter <strong>**4**

Whilst Harry was fast asleep in a potions induced slumber a few days earlier, somewhere else another eight-year-old boy woke up, realising that he could barely breathe. He felt hot and cold at the same time, and his head and chest hurt badly. _'Oh no, I'm sick,'_ he realised. _'I need Dad to give me a potion.'_

He tried to scramble out of his bed, but to his utter confusion there was a wall. _'The wall is supposed to be on the other side,'_ he thought but felt too miserable to further investigate. His room was completely dark. Usually, there was light coming in through the huge window, but this time he could not even see his hand in front of his eyes. He took a few steps in the direction of the door; however, after two small steps he reached the wall. _'Strange,'_ he mused, turning to the right, only to feel more wall with his hand. _'Where am I?'_ he wondered, _'and why is it so dark? I want to get out of here.'_ Panicking, he released a bout of accidental magic, unconsciously casting the Alohomora charm at the door, which he had not even been able to see. _'Thank Merlin,'_ he thought as the early morning light streamed into the small cupboard. _'A cupboard?'_ he realised, incredulously. _'Why was I stuck in a cupboard?'_ He slowly moved his achy body outside, staring in disbelief at his aunt, who was standing outside, glaring at him in rage.

"Aunt Petunia," he said, surprised, "how did I get here? Where are my parents? I need my dad."

"How dare you do freaky things in our house?" his aunt hissed, fiercely shoving him back into the cupboard.

"No, Aunt Petunia, wait," Harry replied, feeling miserable and confused at the same time. "I'm sorry for doing magic here. I just..."

"Shut up," his aunt said, angrily. "There is no such thing as magic. Now you're going to stay in there. I won't have Dudley catch what you have." With that she shut the door into the dazed boy's face.

_'This must be a nightmare,'_ Harry thought. _'Why would I be at their place? I just hope I'll wake up soon. I really don't like these Muggles.'_ He remained sitting on the floor, leaning his achy head against the wall, while he pondered his situation, eventually drifting off into a fevered nap.

When his mind turned back to reality, he still found himself in the dark cupboard, and he felt the urge to use the bathroom. "Alohomora," he whispered, waving his hand in a faint attempt to make the door comply to his wandless magic. _'Thank Merlin,'_ he thought in relief and dragged himself upstairs to where he remembered the bathroom to be from one of his annual visits to the Muggle relatives. Hurriedly relieving himself, he made a decision. _'I'll go and try to catch the Knight Bus,'_ he decided. _'Maybe it'll hear my call, even if I don't have my children's wand with me.'_ Stepping out onto the road, he raised his hand, feverishly whispering, _'Please Knight Bus come and take me home. Please Knight Bus come.'_

To his relief, the Knight Bus jumped onto the street in front of him a few minutes later. "To Hogwarts please," Harry told the conductor in absolute exhaustion, partly due to the illness, partly because of the amount of wandless magic he had already used that morning. "I'm sorry, I don't have any money with me, but my father will pay for it at Hogwarts."

"Who is your father?" the driver queried, giving him a sharp look.

"Severus Snape," Harry replied, feverishly holding on to the next seat, as the bus took a big jump.

"I never knew that Snape had a son," the conductor said, more to himself than to Harry; however, taking in the child's sickly appearance and noticing that the boy could barely keep himself upright, he did not enquire further but made him sit on the nearest empty chair in the fairly crowded bus, just when the bus stopped at Diagon Alley. "Next stop Hogwarts," he announced and whispered to Harry, "I don't have time to wait for your father to come and pay. We already changed our route to take you home quickly, and I can't make everyone wait longer. So don't forget to pay, when you board the Knight Bus the next time."

"Thank you so much," Harry replied, giving the conductor a relieved smile, which did not really reach his eyes, as he felt worse by the minute. Fortunately, after another huge jump, the bus stopped in Hogsmeade, just beside the Apparition border. Harry once again thanked the conductor profusely and dragged himself to the castle. _'Thank Merlin I'm back home,'_ he thought in relief, as he slowly walked the well-known way down to the dungeons. _'I hope Mum or Dad will be at home,'_ he mused, knowing from the students that passed his way that the afternoon classes had to be over already.

However, when he tried to enter his parents' quarters, putting his hand at the front door, the door did not budge, and Salazar Slytherin, who was guarding the entrance door to their quarters, was absent from his portrait. _'What the...?'_ he thought, horrified, helplessly letting himself sink onto the floor in exhaustion.

_'I could go to the Charms classroom and see if Mum's still there,'_ Harry thought; however, he could not muster the energy to walk any further. Tightly holding on to the wall, he pulled himself up and once again placed his hand again the door - without success. _'Maybe Dad is still in his office,'_ he thought, sighing, and approached the Potions Master's office, where he politely knocked at the door in case his father was having visitors.

To his utter relief, the door was opened a mere instant later, and he heard his father's voice, "Come in."

Harry stepped into the office. "Thank Merlin you're here, Dad. Everything is strange today. First I was at the Dursleys, then the door to the living room wouldn't open for me. Dad, I don't feel well. Can you give me a potion?"

He stared at the Potions Master in complete shock, when the man spat with an expression of utmost hatred, "Potter! How dare you come here and insult me like this? I am definitely not your father. You must be delirious. Follow me."

With that the man, whom Harry had known as his father for his whole life, left his office, motioning him to come, and strode through the dungeon corridor, his robes threateningly billowing behind him.

_'I'm still stuck in the nightmare,'_ Harry realised and tried to hurry in order to keep up with the professor's fast pace.

Seeing that the professor turned to the gargoyle, who was guarding the Headmistress' office, Harry thought, _'Thank Merlin, Aunt Minerva will understand and help me.'_

However, he should realise soon that his nightmare was still going to continue, when he saw an old wizard sitting at the desk in his Aunt Minerva's office, whom the professor, who was supposed to be his father, addressed as the Headmaster. Suddenly, he felt the room tilt, while the Headmaster's words penetrated his foggy mind like from far away.

"Why did you run away from the Dursleys, my boy?"

Before Harry could reply, soothing unconsciousness engulfed him.

HP

When Harry's mind returned to awareness, he found himself in the hospital wing. _'Why am I here?'_ he wondered, shocked. Never before had his parents allowed Aunt Poppy to take him with her. Instead they had looked after him together, even during the night and between their classes. _'Oh right, the nightmare,'_ he then remembered, groaning in annoyance. _'I feel much better though,' he realised. 'Aunt Poppy or Dad must have helped me and given me a potion.'_

"Good morning, Harry. How are you feeling?" Aunt Poppy's voice suddenly penetrated his ears.

"Much better, thank you so much," Harry replied, smiling at the Mediwitch. "Do you remember me?" he then asked, giving the kind witch a worried look.

"Of course I know you, my dear, and I look forward to having you here at Hogwarts in a few years," Aunt Poppy replied gently and helped him to sit up, before she waved her wand at him, configuring his hospital pyjamas into dark blue trousers and a green turtleneck shirt. "Now you'll eat your breakfast, and then I'm afraid that Professor Dumbledore wants to take you back to your relatives," she continued and called a house-elf, ordering breakfast for him.

_'Dumbledore is the Headmaster in this nightmare,'_ Harry mused, while he obediently ate his breakfast, and a few minutes later, when he walked beside the old wizard to the Apparition point, he decided that he did not overly like him_. 'Aunt Minerva is much nicer. Where is she? And where are Mum and Dhriti? And why is Dad behaving so strangely?'_ He looked up in shock, when the Headmaster suddenly gripped his arm and apparated away. _'Mum or Dad usually give me a warning,'_ he thought, feeling very much upset by the old man's behaviour. However, when he turned around to glare at the Headmaster, he realised that the old wizard was gone, and he found himself alone in front of the Dursleys' residence, just when his aunt opened the door.

_'When is this nightmare going to end?'_ his mind screamed as he felt himself being pushed into the small cupboard once more, unaware of the fact that his situation would not improve any time soon.

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the kind people who reviewed the last chapter, here and on Facebook!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Alternate Planes  
>by Healer Pomfrey<strong>

_Please refer to the disclaimer, warnings and notes at the beginning of chapter 1!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter <strong>**5**

While one Harry, who was thinking of himself as being stuck in a nightmare, did so well at school that his teacher commended him every day and finally called the Dursleys to school to speak about their nephew's enormous progress, another Harry spent every free minute to study magic with the help of his younger sister Dhriti and his school books in a faint attempt to prevent everyone from realising that he was not who he was supposed to be.

"Studying togehter is so much fun," Dhriti said one day. "Too bad that the holidays are going to start in a few weeks' time."

"Oh no, I'll be happy," Harry contradicted, feverishly waving his wand at a cushion, which he was supposed to the other side of the sofa. "I'm surely going to need the whole holidays to catch up."

"And I'm going to learn lots of new spells together with you," Dhriti cheered, pointing her own children's wand at a cork that had mysteriously found its way onto the table in the living room. "But we also have to study Potions," she suddenly remembered. "Dad only left you in peace because he probably thinks that you're not really well yet, but during the holidays you'll have to help in his lab every day, and if you don't remember anything, you'll have to study a lot in advance if you don't want him to know."

Harry looked at his sister in shock, when she added as an afterthought "Maybe we should tell him the truth. Perhaps he'll be able to help you."

_'But I don't want anyone to help me. They'll only send me back to the Dursleys, or my nice dream is going to end,'_ Harry thought, resolving to spend day and night reading his Potions books before the beginning of the holidays.

HP

"Severus, I think I know what happened," Lily said one night, after the couple had once again witnessed one of Harry's nightmares. She let out a long sigh, as she remembered that fateful night more than seven years ago.

_**Flashback 31 October1981**_

Lily let herself sink onto the sofa, absentmindedly watching Harry play with his stuffed dragon, while her thoughts went haywire. _'Voldemort is going to come, because he wants to kill Harry,'_ she realised reflecting her latest vision. _'I need to do something. But what?'_

Almost an hour later, she made a decision and, somehow knowing that the scene of her vision was going to occur during the next few hours, immediately began to take action. Making sure that Harry was peacefully asleep in his playpen, she waved her wand at the boy. _'I'm not a Charms Mistress for nothing,'_ she thought, grimly, as she made an exact copy of her baby, which she carried upstairs and placed it into the cot in Harry's room, casting a sleeping spell at the boy, before she repeated the Charm and duplicated herself.

"Good luck," the copy told her. "I will do what I must."

Lily merely smiled and waved her wand around her bedroom, gathering her most valuable belongings as well as her and Harry's clothes and packed everything in a suitcase.

Back in the living room, she spent a long time staring out of the window, observing red leaves slowly tumble down from the maple tree in the garden that was lit by the moon light. _'Should I inform James?'_ she mused, pondering to Floo call him at the Ministry. However, knowing that he would come back home in a faint attempt to save her and the baby from Voldemort only to risk his own life, she finally decided to not call her husband. _'He'll be safe at the Ministry,'_ she thought, resolving to merely take her son to a safe place right away. She pocketed the shrunken suitcase, dressed the baby in a warm snowsuit and left the house. Firmly holding Harry in her arm, she apparated away, reappearing on the playground between her parents' house and that of the Snapes. _'As far as I know, Severus is living here alone now,'_ she mused, as she approached her best friend's house.

_**End of flashback**_

"And in that night, Harry suddenly received the scar," Severus recalled. "Probably when the Dark Lord killed Potter. Although it was only made public that James Potter died, he must have also got the two copies."

'Yes,' Lily thought, sighing. _'I should have warned James.'_ "But apparently he did not kill Harry's copy," she then contradicted. "This must be him. He must have survived and been sent to live with Petunia and her awful husband, which is strange, because we never saw him there, and Petunia knows our Harry. And why did Minerva or Poppy not raise him at Hogwarts? They know how Petunia detests everything and everyone connected to the magical world."

Severus thoughtfully ran a hand through his long, silky hair. "Lily, I believe that by making these copies you constructed an alternate universe, in which copy Harry survived but the real Harry and you don't exist. Maybe in that universe Neville did not kill the Dark Lord two days after he attacked the Potter house. Perhaps the Dark Lord is still alive and they assume that it would be too dangerous for Harry to live at Hogwarts. The question is how the two Harrys managed to change positions, and if there is a way to get our Harry back to this universe, which is obviously better for him."

"Severus, I had a vision," Lily slowly admitted, "in which both Harrys attended Hogwarts together…"

"Here in our universe?" Severus quickly queried, raising an eyebrow at his wife in apparent concern.

"Yes," Lily replied, smirking. "They both had to serve detention in my classroom because of playing a prank on the whole school together."

Severus rolled his eyes in annoyance, mumbling something that sounded like "Double trouble." However, the smile playing on his lips told his wife that he was highly amused at the thought.

HP

Before Lily and Severus could come up with a solution, the Harry, who was currently living with the Dursleys, became very ill. _'I want my Mum and Dad,'_ he thought in absolute desperation, as he spent the day weeding the Dursleys' garden under the hot summer sun in spite of having a bad headache along with a high fever.

All of a sudden, he found himself back at Hogwarts, in the midst of a game of Quidditch together with Dhriti, his father and some other permanent residents of Hogwarts. Feeling too miserable to keep himself on his broom, even if very happy to be back at home after several months of extreme anxiety, he slowly descended to the ground and let himself sink onto the grass.

Dhriti was the first to reach him. "Harry, what's wrong?" she shouted, landing next to him on the ground.

"Thank Merlin I'm back here," Harry whispered in exhaustion. "I don't feel good."

Realising that something was not all right, the adults had abandoned their Quidditch by now, and Severus leaned down to Harry. "What's wrong, son?" he queried, worriedly taking in his sickly appearance.

"Dad," Harry mumbled, forcing his eyes half-way open. "Do you remember me now?"

Merely quirking an eyebrow, Severus scooped up the boy and returned to their quarters, smiling at his daughter, who quietly followed them, carrying all three brooms.

Twelve hours of sleep and several doses of potions later, Harry asked again, "Dad, do you know who I am?"

"Of course, Harry, you're my son. Why do you ask such a thing?" Severus returned the question, shocked.

"I was with Aunt Petunia and her family for a whole month or more," Harry explained, "and it was absolutely horrible. Then I caught the Knight Bus and came to Hogwarts, but you didn't recognise me, and there was an old and unfriendly Headmaster, and he took me back to the Dursleys, and you and Aunt Poppy allowed him to take me there. I had to attend a Muggle school, and when the teacher told the Dursleys my grades had become so good, Uncle Vernon beat me, and I had to live in a cupboard. Yesterday, my chest hurt and I felt so bad, but Aunt Petunia didn't care and made me weed the garden…"

"That's my original Harry," Dhriti suddenly blurted out. "The other Harry would have never talked so much. Poor thing, he'll be back at the Dursleys again."

"Who are you talking about?" Harry wanted to know, looking from Dhriti to his parents in confusion.

Lily let out a long sigh, before she shortly explained about the alternate universe.

"So that Harry and I are like twin brothers?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"More than that," Severus replied, thoughtfully. "In fact you are the same person." Turning to his wife, he added, "I can imagine that the other Harry managed to come here, because he really needed you. However, apparently due to being identical persons, he and our Harry were not able to remain here in the same universe, and thus our Harry was taken there."

"Oh Dad, can you do something to fetch the other Harry here too?" Dhriti asked, jumping up and down in excitement.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Alternate Planes  
>by Healer Pomfrey<strong>

_Please refer to the disclaimer, warnings and notes at the beginning of chapter 1!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter <strong>**6**

"Don't worry, Dhriti. We'll find a way to have them both here, and if we succeed, I could blood adopt one of them, so that they won't be one hundred percent identical anymore. We should also change the name of at least one of them," Severus told his daughter, soothingly putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'd like to have a twin brother," Harry mumbled, already drifting back to a potions induced slumber.

HP

Somewhere in a different dimension, Harry realised in shock that he found himself back at the Dursleys.

_'Oh no! It was only a dream,'_ he realised, sadly. _'But why am I in the garden and it is summer? When the dream began, I was in my cupboard and it was only spring.'_ Knowing that he had to finish the garden work, before Petunia would allow him into the house, he set to work, noticing that he suddenly felt hot and cold at the same time.

By the time he finished weeding, he felt absolutely miserable. Relieved that no one was around, when he entered the kitchen, he dragged himself to the cupboard, staring inside in shock. The small room, in which he had spent most of his life, was full with gardening tools and every kind of rubbish that he could imagine. However, his old mattress was gone. Hearing his aunt's footsteps on the stairs, he quickly closed the door, looking up at Petunia, still clearly shocked.

"What's it now?" she hissed. "Is the attic not good enough for you anymore?"

_'The attic?'_ Harry thought in disbelief, before he vehemently shook his head. "Ah no, sorry Aunt Petunia," he mumbled and hurried upstairs, eager to inspect his new room. _'Probably not new, but when was I allowed to move into the attic at all?'_ he wondered.

Slightly hesitantly, he entered the room that was still small but very bright and about four times the size of his former cupboard. Looking around, curiously, he noticed that it was equipped with old but at least proper furniture and realised that someone must have already lived in the attic for a while. He slowly approached the table in front of the window, where a small pile of papers caught his attention. The papers were covered with his own hand writing. _"My life has become totally strange and horrible,"_ the writing began. _"Somehow I ended up with our awful Muggle relatives..."_ Harry carefully picked up the papers and let himself sink onto the bed that was replacing his old, small mattress, engrossing himself in his reading.

_'Maybe I really was with my parents and Dhriti,'_ he realised. _'It was not a dream. Is it possible that their Harry has been here? It seems so. I wonder how he managed to talk Petunia into giving him the attic.'_

HP

When school began again after the summer holidays, Harry noticed that the change of room was not the other Harry's only achievement. As soon as he approached the door of Dudley's and his classroom, his cousin and his gang began to laugh.

"Back here? Did they not want to keep you in your new class? Stupid freak!" Dudley roared.

Harry left the class in utmost confusion and waited for the teacher to arrive.

"Harry, what's wrong?" the teacher, who had always been very kind to the boy, asked in concern. "Don't you like it in your new class?"

'_What am I going to tell her?'_ Harry wondered, trying to imagine how Dhriti would have replied in his place. "Yes, but Dudley made me so confused," he then lied quickly, "that I forgot the way to the classroom."

"Right over there, dear," the teacher informed him kindly, pointing to a door at the other side of the corridor.

Thanking the teacher profusely, Harry made his way to the new classroom in utmost bewilderment. _'But they're a year ahead of our class,'_ he thought, wondering what had happened, while he had been at what seemed to be at a completely different place. _'Dhriti's real brother must be totally awesome,'_ he finally realised_. 'I can't believe my luck. I'm not in the same class as Dudley anymore, so I'll be able to answer all the questions in my tests. I don't have to pretend that I'm more stupid than him anymore,'_ he thought, feeling very happy at the idea.

HP

The other Harry was extremely happy to be back at home with his parents, sister and all of his caring aunts and uncles at Hogwarts. With disgust he told his parents everything about his stay at the Dursleys, begging them to do something to prevent him from getting into that situation, so that he would never have to go there ever again.

However, it was not easy for his parents to invent something, and they could not prevent the two boys from exchanging their positions twice more, before they finished their research. During the next summer holidays, in which the boys turned ten, Lily and Severus finally brewed an extremely complicated potion, which they made Harry drink after informing him of the effects.

"Harry, you must study these instructions," Lily said urgently, handing her son a small parchment. "You know that you won't able to carry anything with you if you happen to change positions with the other Harry again. So it is very important that you know all of these steps by heart. Your father and I have developed these, and we not only hope but are fairly sure that they'll work. Also we're certain that if you work together with the other Harry, you'll manage to do everything perfectly. However, since we don't have a way to contact the other Harry, you are solely responsible for this information."

"All right," Harry replied firmly and spent the next hours to intensely study the parchment. _'I hope that I'll be able to return here together with my twin if it happens the next time. I really don't want to go there again,' _he mused.

HP

The Dursleys, shocked by the fact that Harry had apparently discovered that he was able to do magic not only accidentally but even willingly, had managed to get into a higher class than Dudley, where he did extremely well, and seemed to have much more self confidence than before were outright scared of what the boy could do to them if they would not treat him at least slightly better. Therefore, Harry was better nourished and healthier than ever before. It was only a few days before his eleventh birthday that he once again caught a lung infection.

For the first time in his life, he felt happy upon noticing that his chest was beginning to hurt and he was feeling feverish. '_I'm getting sick again, so I'm probably going to be with Mum, Dad and Dhriti again soon,'_ he thought, smiling in anticipation.

However, in contrary to earlier times, when he had just all of a sudden found himself being together with his beloved family, this time he did not arrive at Hogwarts, when he felt himself being pulled away from the Dursleys' residence. To his disappointment and horror, he was sitting in a very bright room. Glancing around in confusion, he realised that he was all on his own and that there were no windows and no doors in the room. It just only consisted of four white walls. _'Where am I, and why is it so bright?'_ he wondered, laying on the floor in exhaustion, as the room began to spin in front of his eyes. _'I want Mum and Dad,'_ he thought in desperation.

Suddenly, he heard a voice. "Harry?" it asked, sounding curious.

He instantly cracked his eyes open, only to close them again in shock.

"Harry, it's all right; it's only me. Harry. Your twin brother," the other boy explained, patiently. "Now Harry, I need your help. Can you open your eyes again please."

Harry automatically obeyed, curiously looking at the boy, who looked exactly like himself.

"Our parents made a plan for us to go back to Hogwarts together," the other Harry explained. He waved his hand towards the wall, muttering something that Harry could not understand, and an instant later, two doors appeared. Letting out a long sigh, he said, "They taught me this spell, but unfortunately, they still didn't have time to develop a charm to only make one door. So we have to try out these. One is supposed to lead to Hogwarts, the other probably to the Dursleys, but I'm not sure." Seeing that Harry was listening, although he remained sitting on the floor, he continued, "We'll remain together in any case. So you choose a door, and I'll go with you."

Harry carefully stood up, glad when the other Harry held out his hand to steady him, and hesitantly opened the door that was nearer. _'I hope it's the Hogwarts one,'_ he mused; however, all he could see was white fog. "Is this the right one? I'm sorry, maybe I'm delirious," he mumbled, instinctively knowing that the other Harry would understand him without many words.

"No, it's not because of your fever," the other Harry reassured him. "Mum and Dad told me that we'll only be able to see where we are after completely closing the door. I'll close it now, okay?"

"Kay," Harry mumbled, curiously looking around, when the white fog lit and finally disappeared. However, if he had expected to see the Hogwarts lake or even his parents' quarters, he was sadly mistaken, as the small park, in which Dudley had harassed him so often, appeared in front of his eyes. "Oh no! It's Little Whinging," he groaned, terrified.

"Ahhhhh," the other Harry agreed, his voice laced with disappointment and annoyance at the thought of how complicated it would be to follow his parents' instructions in order to get to the other dimension.

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the (few) kind readers, who fed my muse here and on Facebook!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Alternate Planes  
>by Healer Pomfrey<strong>

_Please refer to the disclaimer, warnings and notes at the beginning of chapter 1!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter <strong>**7**

"Is there anything we can do to get to Hogwarts?" Harry queried, looking at his other self in expectation.

The other Harry let out a sigh. "Mum and Dad gave me exact instructions what to do. But it's complicated, especially since we're both sick and don't have our wands. We have to brew a potion and drink it in order to get back to the place with the two doors."

"Okay then let's just return to our room," Harry said tiredly. He was not feeling well at all and just wanted to go and lie down for a while. "As long as the Dursleys don't see us together, they won't know that there are two of us. We can only brew when no one is at home."

"How do you think we're going to get the ingredients?" the other Harry asked, seemingly annoyed. However, noticing that it was beginning to get dark and not feeling well himself, he agreed, and the two boys returned to Privet Drive for the time being.

Once they were seated in the attic, Harry began to explain. "For the potion, we need one sliced frog tail…"

"What?" his other self interrupted him, terrified. "Where do we get such a thing?"

"No idea, but in the worst case at Hogwarts," Harry replied and continued, "one bushel of gras, which is harvested at four o'clock in the morning, and a piece of bark from a magical tree." He slowly exhaled the air, running a hand through his messy hair. "For that we need to go to Hogwarts anyway. We can use the Whomping Willow."

"Can we just go to Hogwarts?" the other Harry asked in disbelief. "Why do we have to brew the potion at all then?"

Harry sighed and explained about his previous excursion to Hogwarts as well as the other dimension. "Maybe I should try to catch the Knight Bus now at night though and then try to nick some potions for us from the hospital wing, before we get even sicker. Since we can't go together, as everyone knows that I don't have a twin brother, I suggest that I go and you wait here," he then said, thoughtfully.

"No, please don't leave me alone," the other Harry replied, pleadingly. "Is there any other way to get to Hogwarts?"

Harry remained thoughtful for a moment, before he said, pensively, "I'm not sure, but we can try if my emergency Portkey works even in this dimension." He pulled out a necklace from under his turtleneck shirt and pointed to the pendant, which had the form of a large cat. "A lynx," he explained to his other self, "our father's family heirloom. Hold on to the cat, and I'll try to activate it." Seeing the other boy grab the pendant, he whispered, "home."

An instant later, both Harrys felt a pull behind their navels, as the Portkey activated. It took them right to the castle's entrance doors.

"How strange," Harry mused aloud. "It's supposed to take me to my room."

"But you just said that our father doesn't even know us in this dimension. So maybe our room won't be here either," the other Harry supplied, causing his other self to nod his agreement.

"Do you know where the Whomping Willow is?" Harry queried, and, seeing his Muggle raised self shake his head, he instructed him, "Okay, can you go to the hospital wing then and nick some phials of the lung infection potion and some fever reducers? In the meantime, I'm going to get some bark from the Whomping Willow. We'll meet here again in fifteen minutes."

"Okay," the other Harry agreed, wearily, and hesitantly made his way towards where he rememberd the hospital wing. _'How will I be able to take some phials with me without Aunt Poppy noticing? Wouldn't it be easier to search in the Potions classroom?'_ He stopped for a moment to consider his options, observing the Giant Squid play in the moon light through one of the large windows on the left hand side, when a snide voice brought him back to reality.

"Potter! What are you doing here again? It's going to be bad enough having to see your face for seven years from the beginning of the school year, but even a celebrity has to abide to the rules, which forbid dunderheads to enter Hogwarts during the summer holidays."

"Professor," Harry mumbled, feverishly trying to re-call what the other Harry had told him about his previous visit to Hogwarts in this dimension, "I need sliced frog tail and the potion for lung infection, sir." He hesitantly glanced up at the tall wizard, flinching back, startled, as the teacher's expression became furious.

"Potter, who do you think you are that entitles you to come to Hogwarts asking for potions?" Snape bellowed, towering over the boy. "I believe that the Headmaster made it very clear..."

_'My uncle!'_ Harry's mind screamed, clouded by the fever, and he hurriedly took a few quick steps backwards. Unfortunately, the corridor began to tilt dangerously, and he was unable to keep himself on his feet and stumbled, lightly hitting his head against the wall.

"Potter! You dunderhead," Snape said coldly, staring down at the boy, who was sitting on the floor rubbing his forehead. "Now tell me why would you need sliced frog tail, considering that you're residing in a Muggle household?"

"I don't know sir," Harry admitted, suddenly feeling very dizzy. "My twin brother..."

"Your twin brother?" Snape interrupted him, furiously glaring at the boy. "Enough of your insolence. I am not stupid, Potter. You don't have a twin brother. Follow me to the Headmaster's office."

"I'm sorry sir, it's not like that," Harry stammered, feverishly holding on to the wall to pull himself into an upright position.

"Come on, Potter," the Potions Master drawled, "I don't have all day."

"Sorry Professor," Harry whispered, "can we just go to the entrance hall to see if my twin is back please? He went to the Whomping Willow to gather some bark."

"The Whomping Willow?" Snape queried, quirking an eyebrow. "How do you know about that tree?"

Harry let out a long sigh, wondering if it would be wise to tell the man about the other dimension.

"My twin brother came from a different dimension," he finally admitted, "and in order to go there together, we need to brew a potion, and he suggested getting the ingredients at Hogwarts." Seeing that Snape listened, even with a bored expression, he continued, "I have been in the other dimension a few times. In that dimension, you are my father, sir, and we live here at Hogwarts, together with my mum and sister." He slowly lifted his head, anxiously glancing at the professor only to see that a wave of emotions flashed in the man's face that had been completely blank before.

"Was it you who came here to Hogwarts before in this dimension?" the professor enquired, raising an eyebrow at the child, who shook his head with an anxious expression.

"No sir, that was my twin."

_'I thought so. He was less shy at that time,'_ Severus mused. _'If I accompanied them, I could see Lily again. On the other hand, she is married to my other self, so I couldn't have her in any case. I don't know what's worse, not being able to see her at all or seeing her together with someone else.'_

"Sir, do you believe me?" Harry queried, sounding surprised as he turned dull green eyes at him that reminded him of something.

_'Like Lily's eyes when she was so ill in the summer after our third year,'_ he remembered, recalling how he had secretly brewed a batch of the pneumonia potion for her and apparated into her room every four hours to administer the potion without her parents or her sister noticing.

Harry's question brought him back to reality. _'Indeed, why should I trust the dunderhead to tell the truth? Probably it's just a story he made up as a reason to come to Hogwarts earlier,_' Severus thought, grimly. "If you lie to me, Potter, I'm going to use your limbs as potions ingredients," he replied, astonishingly quietly. "Let's look for your other self then."

When the pair entered the entrance hall, his eyes fell on a boy, who was sitting on the floor moaning in agony.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Harry enquired, already leaving the tall professor to rush over to his other self.

"Hurts," the other Harry mumbled, slowly raising his head to the other boy and the teacher, causing the two wizards' eyes to widen at his sight.

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the kind readers who fed my muse with reviews and comments! I really appreciate them._


	8. Chapter 8

**Alternate Planes  
>by Healer Pomfrey<strong>

_Please refer to the disclaimer, warnings and notes at the beginning of chapter 1!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter <strong>**8**

Harry stared at his twin in utter confusion. "Harry?" he asked, tentatively, wondering why the other boy did not look like him anymore. He still had the same green eyes, but his hair was long and silky like that of their father, and his face seemed longer than earlier.

"Yes, it's me," the other Harry replied, giving his other self a comforting smile, even if it did not reach his eyes, as he was still in a lot of pain. "You know, we can't stay in the same dimension as the same person," he began to explain. "Therefore, a few months ago, dad gave me a blood adoption potion, and mum put a charm on me, so that it would only become efficient three hours after I met you in either this or the other dimension."

"Wow. You look awesome," Harry said, in admiration. "You still have that stupid scar though."

HP

Severus stared at the boy in disbelief. _'The son of Lily and myself,'_ he mused, _'with my hair but Lily's eyes and nose.'_ "Very well," he said, keeping his voice neutral and his face blank of emotion. "I suggest that you follow me into my rooms to avoid the Headmaster seeing you and transporting you back to the Dursleys without hearing you out. I expect a detailed explanation."

"Yes sir," the two boys replied, simultaneously, and slowly followed the professor the well-known path down to the dungeons.

Severus strode ahead, deciding to do something that he had never done before. He led the boys into the living room of his private quarters and motioned them to take a seat on the sofa. "Explain," he demanded, lowering himself into his favourite armchair in front of the fireplace.

"Excuse me, sir," the boy, who looked like a son of him, spoke up in a soft voice, "may we get a potion first? We both need the potion for lung infection and a fever reducer and would really appreciate..." He slowly trailed off.

"Of course," Severus agreed, realising that both boys looked worse for the wear. Their cheeks were flushed deeply, their hair was sticking to their sweaty foreheads. Two pairs of glassy, green eyes were looking at him with a combination of anxiousness and expectation. Aware that the boy, who had spoken, had been raised by himself in another dimension and thus ought to have a solid knowledge about potions, he trusted his assessment and accioed the requested potions from his private lab.

Both boys sighed in apparent relief after gulping down the potions without lingering on the taste. "Thank you so much, sir," the one, who looked like Potter, was the first to speak up, followed immediately by his twin.

"You're welcome," Severus replied and slightly inclined his head, somehow feeling strangely amused by the situation.

During the following ten minutes, the two boys took turns explaining everything about their life in the other dimension and how their parents had meant for them to both live there together. Seeing that the professor was listening with apparent interest, Harry said proudly, "My mum created the other dimension by making a copy of me, when I was a baby, and we are magically connected, which is why we both have the scar and why we both usually become ill or feel pain at the same time."

Severus remained thoughtful for a moment, before he replied, "I believe that this should not be the case anymore, considering that the two of you are not identical persons anymore. However, your magical connection will probably remain forever." He quietly studied the boys' faces for a minute and queried, "Do you have a parchment with the recipe of the potion that you need to get to the room with the two doors?"

"No sir," Harry replied, sighing, "but I know it by heart. May I borrow a quill and a small parchment, please?"

Severus nodded, and a wave of his hand later, the requested items found their way onto the table in front of the boy, who immediately set to work.

_One sliced frog tail  
>one bushel of gras, harvested at four o'clock in the morning<br>one piece of bark from a magical tree, powdered_

_stir eighteen and a half times clockwise, seven times anti-clockwise_

_let potion simmer for about two hours until it turns orange_

_one large phial per person_

Putting down the quill, Harry handed the parchment to the Potions Master.

Severus quickly skimmed the writing, which he found more than adequate for a barely eleven-year-old boy, and nodded. With a flick of his hand, he transfigured the sofa into a large enough bed for the two boys to comfortably sleep for a few hours.

"Very well; lie down and get some sleep. I'll brew the potion for you and wake you up, when it'll be ready in the morning," he suggested, quirking an eyebrow.

"We can brew it or at least assist," the one, who had written the recipe, protested weakly, before a glare from Severus made both boys lie down. Seconds later, they both drifted into a potions induced slumber, and Severus retreated to his private lab.

_'Have I totally gone nuts?'_ he berated himself as he set up the cauldron. _'Why am I helping Potter and his twin? Albus would kill me if he knew. He needs Potter here in this dimension for his bloody prophecy. What's going to happen if Potter will be gone? Will the prophecy become void?'_ While he absentmindedly prepared the ingredients, his thoughts went haywire. _'Maybe I should really go with them,'_ he mused. _'Will that be possible though? And what would happen in the other dimension? Like the boy said, only one of the same person can live in one dimension at the same time. So if I wanted to go, I'd have to take on a different personality. But why would I want to do that? To see Lily again of course. And to have two sons, who seem to be raised very well. But what about my other self? They are his family, not mine. And he is the Potions Master at Hogwarts, so there is no space for me.'_ Trying to dismiss the string of thought as extremely dim-witted, he diligently brewed the potion, feeling amazed at the thought that two barely eleven-year-old boys would be able to brew this potion, which he deemed at least as difficult as an OWL level potion.

HP

While the Muggle raised Harry drifted from one fevered dream about his abusive uncle to the next, the other Harry slept peacefully, only waking up in the early morning hours. _'The potions must have worn off,'_ he realised, only feeling slightly better than on the previous day. He slowly cracked his eyes open and glanced around. To his surprise, the room looked very different than in his own dimension. It was much darker and seemed colder lacking all the decorations, which his mother had created with various charms. _'Mum's charms are awesome,'_ he mused, suddenly missing his mother badly. _'I just hope we'll manage to get back home soon.'_

"Harry," the Potions Master's voice turned his attention to the black clothed wizard, who was sitting in the armchair giving him a sharp look. "Why is it that your father assumed you would be able to brew the potion by yourself? I'd estimate the potion beyond OWL level."

Harry smirked. "My father has taught my sister and me to brew since we were little tykes, sir. I can brew most potions that are taught at Hogwarts, and since my parents wanted to be sure that I'd be able to exactly remember the ingredients and brew it on my own in this dimension, my father made me brew it seven times."

"Very well," the older wizard replied, nodding in apparent approval.

_'Why is he always wearing black?'_ Harry wondered, recalling that the Potions Master had also been clothed in black robes, when he had come to Hogwarts in this dimension a few years ago. "How come that black is your favourite colour, sir?" he blurted out, unable to stop himself. "My father's favourite colour is green, and he always wears dark blue or green robes."

"Is that so?" the Potions Master queried, sounding very bored.

"Oh well, never mind," Harry mumbled, more to himself than to the older wizard, looking up, startled, when a cold, slender hand was placed on his forehead.

HP

One hour, a light breakfast and another round of potions later, both Harrys sat on the sofa, eyeing the two large phials of an orange potion with apprehension.

Severus eyed the boys with mixed feelings. On the one hand, he could not wait for them to leave and restore the peace and quiet in his private quarters, and on the other hand, he was still extremely temped and playing with the thought of joining the travellers.

However, just when he began to voice his thoughts to the children, the fireplace in his office flared, and Minerva McGonagall's voice could be heard.

"Wait a moment," he quickly excused himself and stepped through the connecting door into his office, firmly shutting the door behind himself.

"Severus," the Gryffindor Head greeted him, giving him a sharp look. "Are you all right? You missed breakfast."

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry, Minerva, I had a potion to brew," the Potions Master quickly lied, inwardly groaning at his colleague's overprotectiveness.

"Sybil collapsed after uttering a new prophecy," McGonagall explained, placing the Headmaster's Pensive on Severus' desk. "Albus has no idea what happened and who it might be about, and he wants you to take a look at it, while he is in the infirmary with Poppy and Sybil and tries to receive more information from Sybil."

Together, the two professors entered the Pensieve. Severus saw his colleagues peacefully having breakfast together, before Sybil Trelawney suddenly began to speak in a raspy voice.

_"The chosen one with the power to vanquish the dark travels on alternate planes, and the prophecy shall be set aside. The one, who has tasted the dark and turned to the light by helping the chosen one flee from its burden, has the knowledge about the alternate one, destined to be the light child's friend in the alternate and who has vanquished the dark as a bane, must unite to vanquish the evil still lingering in this universe."_

_'What the...?'_ he thought, as he left the Pensieve. "I have no idea, Minerva," he said flatly. "Please excuse me now, I am in the middle of a brewing process." With that he returned to his living room, where the two boys were still waiting for him. To his surprise, he found a third large phial waiting on the table.

_tbc..._

_A huge thanks to the kind readers who fed my muse with reviews and comments! I really appreciate them._


	9. Chapter 9

**Alternate Planes  
>by Healer Pomfrey<strong>

_Please refer to the disclaimer, warnings and notes at the beginning of chapter 1!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter <strong>**9**

"What is the meaning of this?" the Potions Master asked, pointing at the third phial as he raised an eyebrow at the boys.

"We thought..."

"... that you might like to come with us, sir..."

"... considering how much happier..."

"... our father in the other dimension seems to be," the two Harrys explained, alternately.

For an instant, a small smile played on the professor's lips. However, just now something else had to be his first priority.

"Harry," he addressed the magically raised boy, "do I remember correctly that you told me it was Neville Longbottom, who vanquished the Dark Lord in your dimension?"

"Yes sir," Harry reassured him, returning a questioning look.

"May I assume that Neville is a friend of you?"

"Yes sir," both Harrys replied, simultaneously, ending up chuckling at each other.

_'So the new prophecy is about Longbottom and myself,'_ Severus realised, horrified. "Thank you, boys, but I won't be able to go with you. I have a prophecy to fulfil and to vanquish the Dark Lord. If I succeed, maybe at one time in the future, I might be able to join you. I'll keep the recipe for the potion in a safe place."

HP

The two Harrys exchanged a determined look and simultaneously reached for the phials.

"Thanks a lot for your help, sir."

"Good luck, sir..."

"... and whenever you feel up to it..."

"... join us at our place..."

"... We'll help you adjust."

With that they began to sip the potion, groaning and moaning at the foul taste and the huge amount of liquid they had to drink. As soon as they had taken the last sip and placed the phial back on the table, the world began to turn around and finally turned black.

When their vision returned, the two boys found themselves back in the room with the two doors.

"Okay, the right one it is," they spoke up at the same time and hurried through the door, glancing around in anxiousness, as soon as they had kicked the door close.

HP

"Harry!" Dhriti's shouting brought both of them back to reality.

"Thank Merlin you both made it home," Lily said, smiling, pulling her sons into her arms.

"I suppose you chose the wrong door?" Severus queried, smirking at his sons, who immediately began to explain about their day at Hogwarts.

"My, you both look handsome, and we won't have problems to distinguish you, now that one of you look so much like your father and not like James anymore," Lily said, gently caressing the boys' cheeks.

"Yes, but we ought to change either my or his name," Harry replied, letting his hand run through his long, silky hair in a very Snape-ish manner.

"I believe that is a very good idea," Severus said, appraisingly. "Does any of you have an idea?"

"Yes, me," Dhriti shouted, eagerly looking from her big brothers to her father. "How about we call my old Harry Salazar Snape and my new Harry Harry Snape?"

Both Harrys exchanged a glance and nodded their agreement.

"Okay, I'm going to be Salazar then. Is that all right with you, Mum and Dad?"

"It's you who have to listen to that name, not me," Severus replied, grinning. "So if it's all right for you, we'll be able to live with it." He turned his eyes to Harry. "Harry, are you contented with your name, or do you wish to change it as well?"

Harry smiled at his father. "No sir, I'm fine with it. Harry Snape sounds great if that's possible."

"Of course," Severus replied, nodding his head. "In fact, I'd like to officially adopt you like I adopted your brother many years ago. On this occasion, we're going to change your surname then."

"Thank you... Dad," Harry replied, happily, even if slightly hesitant to address his father as such. _'I always called him Dad, but this time it's somehow different, now that the other Harry, oh right, Salazar, is here as well,'_ he mused.

However, during the following weeks, Harry should learn that Lily and Severus were more than happy to have two of them in their family, and Dhriti was absolutely delighted having two big brothers to play and study with her.

Harry and Salazar got along well and thoroughly enjoyed having a twin brother, who was able to understand them without many words. To Harry's relief, Salazar did not mind not only sharing his family but also all of his belongings with him. _'Thank Merlin he is not at all like Dudley,'_ Harry thought, feeling very happy about his new life.

**The End**

_Due to the lack of resonance for this story, I have decided to skip my further plans and end it at this point. A huge thanks to the kind readers who supported this story by feeding my muse with comments!_


End file.
